There is water in my shoes,
And my fingers are cut,
There is in beside the fire,
What will cure my complaint,
And if you have room to move,
Rise and bring down the glass.”
The following New-Year’s rhyme must have tried the breath of the speaker and the patience of his listeners considerably. It consists probably of several separate rhymes tagged together, and the allusions it contains to the “big clerk of the street,” etc., make it highly probable the ceremonies of the evening were remains of the Festival of Fools, and had their origin in the streets of Rome. The rhyme is given as it came to hand.
“Bless this cheerful dwelling,
With a musical voice,
That it be like a royal palace,